College in the High School program to expand to six more districts

Pitt-Bradford will expand its College in the High School program,
which allows high school students to take college courses in their own schools,
to six more school districts this fall.

The additional school districts are
Brookville Area School District in Jefferson County, Forest Area School
District in Forest County, Kane and Port Allegany area school districts in
McKean County, Oil City Area School District in Venango County and Warren
County School District in Warren County, which includes four high schools.

“The College in the High School
program offered by Pitt-Bradford is an extraordinary opportunity for students,”
said Sandra Craft, superintendent of Brookville Area School District. “Students
can enroll in a college class taught by a familiar teacher in the environment
of their school at an affordable cost.”

The new districts join 12 others
representing 430 students enrolled in first-year college courses at their high
school taught by their own teachers. Teachers must hold a master’s degree,
undergo training from Pitt-Bradford and follow a Pitt-Bradford syllabus. The
content of a normal college semester is taught over the course of a full school
year.

Courses offered range from math and
composition to petroleum technology, biology, chemistry, geography, Spanish, environmental
science, political science and more, depending on the abilities and interests
of the faculty in each school district. The 2013-14 school year could see more
than 600 students enrolled.

“The schools are very interested in
it,” said Dr. Stephen Robar, associate dean of academic affairs who oversees
the program for Pitt-Bradford. Robar said support for the program is strong not
only among high school faculty, but also among Pitt-Bradford faculty, which is
key since each teacher has a liaison at the college whom he or she can call for
support.

Robar said that before he approached
new schools for the program, he spoke with the faculty about expanding it and
found them interested in supporting the program.

The high school teachers visit
campus once over the summer to meet their Pitt-Bradford support faculty. Robar
said that the Pitt-Bradford faculty look forward to this event because they
also learn from this meeting about how the high school students are being
taught.

Pitt-Bradford began the College in
the High School program in 2005-06 with 43 students, and it has grown significantly
in part due to funds made available through the Pennsylvania Department of
Community and Economic Development Educational Improvement Tax Credit.

Through the tax credit, businesses
may redirect up to $300,000 of their PA tax liability to an approved
Educational Improvement Organization such as Pitt-Bradford. Because new
companies chose to participate in the EITC program and support Pitt-Bradford
last year, the program has been able to expand to more school districts.

The tax credits also benefit
Pitt-Bradford’s Bridges program, which allows high school students to take
regular college courses on campus for a fraction of the cost of regular
tuition.

“This is a win-win-win situation for
families, for high schools and for the region,” Robar said.

For more information on
whether a business may qualify for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit
Program, contact Rick Esch, vice president of business affairs at
Pitt-Bradford, at (814)362-0992 or esch@pitt.edu.
This year’s deadline for application is July 1.